Hero Quest

Kairosoft’s unique flavour of retro-themed mobile gaming has had players hooked ever since the sublime Game Dev Story appeared in a flash of pixels and chip-tune music in 2010, and the company’s unbroken string of solid-gold hits shows no signs of wavering.

Dungeon Village is the latest outing from the Japanese studio, and it should come as no great surprise to learn that it too can be filed under ‘dangerously addictive’, along with its predecessors.

The premise this time around is actually a little more unusual than previous efforts: rather than being a football coach or game developer, you’re the mayor of a small mediaeval village perched right on the edge of a vast, monster-filled wilderness.

What’s that coming over the hill

By building shops and accommodation, you can attract wandering adventurers to your little hamlet. These plucky chaps will then sally forth and eradicate any unwanted beasts, earning gold and renown in the process.

By providing these warriors with shops to upgrade their equipment, stores to replenish their health, and inns for rest and recuperation, the stature of your village grows. Quests become available that tempt even more heroes to your town, and thus a virtuous cycle is set in motion - you look after the adventurers, they look after your town, and everybody stands to benefit.

Dungeon Village boasts the typically compelling gameplay that has made every Kairosoft game so appealing. Although the challenge itself isn’t hard and you’ll rarely hit a brick wall, the feeling of achievement as you gain items, upgrade your facilities, and make progress is considerable.

Heroes for hire

You’re forever being bombarded with fresh information, and unlocking new items and events, which means there’s rarely a moment in the game where you find yourself staring at the screen in dire need of stimulation.

Dungeon Village has a similar control method to the one seen in Epic Astro Story, and it can take some getting used to. It feels almost as if it’s been made with a mouse-driven control system in mind, and feels a little imprecise when allied with a touchscreen.

Aside from the slightly iffy controls, Dungeon Village’sonly other drawback is that once you’ve completed it there’s little point in playing it a second time - unless you wish to improve your score.

You’re given 16 game years to achieve the best result, and although you can continue playing after that period has elapsed your score is locked-in.

Even if you only play it once, Dungeon Village still offers more entertainment and enjoyment than most mobile games can muster. It will keep you glued to your phone for hours on end, unable to switch off because the desire to see what lies around the corner is so great.